” This is my victory lap ! “Launched Hubert Lenoir by collecting his first Félix of the evening. Recognized at the 2018 edition of the Gala de l’ADISQ thanks to his first solo album DarleneLenoir repeated the feat on Sunday evening by stealing the star of the 44e edition of the Félix awards ceremony, hosted for a 17e times by comedian Louis-José Houde, as always up to the task. Ariane Roy was crowned Revelation of the Year, but the surprise of the evening came from Salebarbes, who beat public favorites — Les Cowboys Fringants, Les Trois Accords and 2Frères — to take the Félix Groupe or duo of the year.
On three of the ten Félix distributed Sunday evening at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of the Place des Arts was engraved the name of Lenoir. First, that of Artist of the Year — international influence, which he received by thanking the Quebec public, because international influence “has to start somewhere”! Then that of the Male Artist of the Year and, finally, that of the Author or Composer of the Year, for the songs of the album Pictura de ipse: Direct musicpublished in September 2021.
His thanks were sometimes thoughtful — “I think everyone writes songs all day long without realizing it; I think that perhaps my greatest talent is to pay attention to it”, he said when he received the award for Author or Composer of the Year – sometimes playfully vulgar, like by accepting that of Male Interpreter of the Year, inviting at the same time the milieu to open up to the work of musicians evolving in musical genres perceived as different.
Competing in eleven categories (artistic and technical), the musician will have finally won seven, after counting those picked earlier this week for Album of the Year – alternative, Album of the Year – critics’ choice , International Collaboration of the Year (with the French Bonnie Banane) and Arrangements of the Year, awarded jointly to collaborators Félix Petit, Gabriel Desjardins, Marius Larue and Julyan. A prosperous year for the musician, whose last album was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, won by Montrealer Pierre Kwenders.
Big winner of the 2021 edition of the ADISQ Gala, singer-songwriter Klô Pelgag once again distinguished herself by winning the Show of the Year award (Our Lady of Seven Sorrows), crowded category with nine other applications – the concerts of Gab Paquet, Émile Proulx-Cloutier, Ariane Moffatt and Vincent Vallières, among others – a way of underlining the complete recovery of the musical entertainment industry, after two long years of health restrictions .
Revelation of the year
In the Revelation of the Year category, one of the most anticipated awards of the evening, Ariane Roy’s victory is all the more spectacular as the singer-songwriter from Quebec City measured herself against sizes enjoying critically acclaimed like Étienne Coppée and Natasha Kanapé, others of great popular success like La Zarra (recognized in France) and Jay Scøtt.
The latter, who has become known in Quebec as the bridge between pop, folk and hip-hop, won the first Félix of his career last Wednesday in the category Album of the year – folk (for His greatest hits). We saw him again on the podium on Sunday evening: Jay Scøtt wrote and performed the meritorious Song of the Year with FouKi, Copilot — a double for this song which earned director Phil Chagnon the Félix for Music Video of the Year, viewed more than 4.2 million times on YouTube, also awarded at the Premier gala last Wednesday.
The Song of the Year award was the first of the night to be presented, by none other than Ginette Reno, who had stepped away from the spotlight after being hospitalized last fall. Moved, she thanked the audience before revealing the name of the winning song, realizing at the same time that she had forgotten her reading glasses: “And the song is… Capitol, by Funky and Jay Scøtt! “, she then announced! The error was forgiven even before FouKi and Scøtt set foot on stage, after one of those little moments that make the magic of televised galas.
Salebarbes’ victory in the Group or Duo of the Year category was unexpected, given the heavyweights that the trad-Cajun quintet faced, such as Les Cowboys Fringants (five-time winners in this category, they were defending their title won in 2021) , 2Frères (winners in 2016 and 2018) and Les Trois Accords, which this Félix has always eluded. Winner last Wednesday of the Félix Album of the Year — rock, Bon Enfant completed the nomination. In the absence of the Félix Tribute it deserves at the dawn of its 40th anniversary, ADISQ has invited the legendary metal group Voivod, internationally recognized, to present the Félix for Group or Duo of the Year.
Already crowned winner in the category Album of the year — native languages for its excellent Waska MatisiwinAtikamekw singer-songwriter Laura Niquay took the stage to pick up the Félix for Aboriginal Artist of the Year, another hotly contested category with colleagues Beatrice Deer, Samian, Scott-Pien Picard and Natasha Kanapé, who was also in the running for the Newcomer of the Year category.
Cited in four categories, singer-songwriter Roxane Bruneau had a more modest harvest than last year, when she won four Félix awards; for a second consecutive year, Bruneau won the Female Interpreter of the Year trophy on Sunday evening. Finally, Les Cowboys Fringants were awarded the Félix for Album of the Year — popular success, a prize formerly named Album of the Year — best seller, for the original soundtrack of the film. America is crying. A twenty-first career Felix for the Cowboys!
Distinction between “service” and “performance”
In his opening monologue, Louis-José Houde first evoked the assault on Chris Rock during his amination of the Oscars gala, then the unexpected irruption of Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge during that of Gemini hosted by Véronique Cloutier. The host warned the indoor audience that he had his own bodyguards… the 2 Brothers! Houde then avoided jokes directed at the artists present, directing his humor instead towards the resumption of shows and the distinction to be made between “performance” and “performance”, with a string of very well found examples. “Tonight, we are playing sold out and face to face! “, he finally sent, as delighted as we are with a return to almost normality.
The gala opened with a more concise performance than in previous years, first with a short number by the Quatuor Esca, who then accompanied Coeur de Pirate; Patrice Michaud then interpreted his success You are here, accompanied by about forty children who hopped and sang with him. In closing, Hubert Lenoir gave the kind of explosive and unpredictable performance that made his reputation, but this ADISQ Gala will have been marked above all by those of Lisa LeBlanc and Edith Bultler, exuberant and unifying, and the powerful, rappers Naya Ali and Sarahmée, accompanied by dancers. Viewers were also able to enjoy performances by Corneille, Bruno Pelletier and Mario Pelchat and artists nominated for the Newcomer of the Year award, among others.